Counter-intuitively means less freedom. As people then have the freedom to take other peoples freedom away. Richard Stallman understands this, and hence the strict licensing conditions GNU has.
Google should really do similar, to at minimum prevent crapware and all these custom skins like HTC Sense.
Listen to this nonsense:
PC Mag: People have been saying that the freedom of Android has basically meant that the carriers are free to screw the consumers.
Rubin: If I were to release an operating system that I claimed was open and that forced everybody to make [phones] all look the same and all support very narrow features and functionality, the platform wouldn?t win. It wouldn?t win because the OEMs have a lot of value to bring and the carriers have a lot of value to bring, and they need a vehicle by which to put their interesting differentiating features on these things.
What a bunch of insipid, marketing doublespeak. Translation: We talk a big game about the importance to ?the community? and ?openness? but we will gladly make ourselves the ***** of the carriers and OEM?s. I guess that?s fine. This is a business after all and they are trying to dominate. But you don?t get to pretend that you are the open source poster boys anymore when you let carriers and OEM?s screw your consumers with ?added value?.
John Gruber puts it best:
Things you don?t hear iPhone users say: ?Man, this iPhone would be even better if my carrier could ?add value? to it.?
http://mobile.pcmag.com/device2/article.php?CALL_URL=http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2370464,00.asp

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